Gospel: Matthew 18: 15-20
Human beings are by nature social creatures. We need the company of others in order to survive and flourish. Even in the realm of faith we need one another along the journey, we need to interact with others in order to live out the law of love. Even hermits interact with one another for the necessities of life and to care for one another.
It has been said by the cynics that hell is other people. For those who abandoned the life of love other people would indeed be hellish. The faults of others would grate heavily on them as it would remind them of their own faults. Even the mere presence of others would be unbearable to them as they would be reminders of their failure to love.
But it is also true that heaven is other people. For the person who loves people are a continual encounter with beings created in God's image and likeness, encounters with other Christs, temples of the Holy Spirit. Every interaction with another person is an encounter with the holy, an opportunity to forgive, to love, and care for others. This is how Jesus lived, he who embraced Judas and called him friend at the very end.
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